Copycat
by OhGodTheHorror
Summary: Ryou tells Ichigo to act like the other mews and stop asking for a raise...what happens when she takes him seriously? and what do the nightmares have to do with her? r&r to find out...
1. Plans and the dream

**tell me what you think...**

**Copycat…**

**Chapter 1- plans**

"Shirogane, can I please have a raise?" the rose haired Ichigo pleaded to her boss, making him turn around, "sure" her blonde haired boss replied,

"Really?" she exclaimed

"No" he retorted turning around and heading for the stairs that led to his room. "Why not? I do most, no ALL of the work around here and I think that I deserve to be paid for my hard work," she screamed at the top of her lungs. He cringed for a moment,

"I said no damn it, why can't you for once just act like the other girls and NOT ASK!" he bellowed then he entered his room and slammed the door in Ichigo's face. She growled and was about to protest, when an evil idea stuck her, smirking she walked off "have it your way then" she said to herself as she slowly descended the stairs and went back to her busy day of work.

Ryou's room

Resting his head on the wall, he thought. 'Why must she make me feel this way? Of all people, why her?' he pondered 'I've never loved anybody, yet how could I let myself fall in lovewith HER?' "DAMN IT!" he yelled slamming his fists on the wall. He sighed, taking off his shirt and pants and retreating to his bed where he fell asleep, dreaming of a life with his beloved strawberry. As hours went by though, his dreams turned into nightmares as he tossed and turned in the covers.

Dream

_He was holding hands with Ichigo, the sun was slowly setting as they strolled down a street, "Ichigo" he said "I love you so much" as he pulled her closer, she looked up at him and whispered softly "I feel so right when I'm with you shirogane," he stopped walking 'shirogane, shirogane, that's my work name, this can't be true. Besides, I always taunt her…how could she ever love a beast like me?' he thought. A distressed Ichigo then interrupted by letting him go and running off towards smoke "your house, it's burning," she yelled as Ryou ran after her, but no matter how fast he ran, he could never catch up. Eventually he reached the mansion and watched helplessly as Ichigo ran into the blazing house. "Wait no" he tried to scream, but his voice had failed him and everytime he tried to save her, an invisible force would hold him back. The fire died down eventually; Ryou was now crying for his loved ones, then he saw three white figures float out of the wreck and towards him; the first one was a woman with long hair, he realized that she was his mother because the resemblance was almost identical. She spoke with a great sadness in her voice, "why Ryou? Why did you let us die?" she asked, then the ghost of Ichigo spoke "I thought you loved me Ryou, us" then she touched her stomach which was swelling slowly. The third ghost, a man, just turned away, then they all started disappearing into thin air. "No mummy, dad, Ichigo, come back!" Ryou yelled as everything turned black, "I'm sorry!"_

Then he awoke to Keiichiro's voice. "Ryou, Ryou calm down, it was just a dream," he whispered, holding his crying friend in his arms until he was calm. "What is it?" Ryou asked sobering up, "the girls have left and Ichigo is closing up. Also, I'm leaving now, unless you want to talk?" Keiichiro explained,

"Nah, I'll be ok" he retorted, then he pushed Keiichiro out of the room and shut the door. Sighing, he put on his pants, but before he could put his shirt on, a smirking Ichigo barged in, she blushed when she saw the shirtless boy, "do you always barge in on people who are shirtless, or do you just enjoy seeing me in my finest moment?" Ryou joked, flexing his muscles. Ichigo threw a shirt at him and retorted, "You wish."

'I do' he thought

"anyway, I apologize, I just came in to say goodnight, that's all" she mumbled, then Ichigo backed out of the room and ran down the stairs and out of the café doors giggling all the way. Ryou knowing the consequences of sleeping, went down to the lab and ran tests and stuff until daybreak.

The next day was Saturday. 'Right' Ichigo thought 'act normal today and tomorrow and start on Monday' then she ran into work, **purposely** late. "Late again strawberry" Ryou mocked as he checked his watch, "MAYBE I would be early if I had a reason to" she retorted as she ran into the change rooms. She changed and started work, not once arguing through out the day to Ryou or anybody. "What's up with Ichigo?" Retasu asked to Mint, "no idea" she replied. Then during two death-defying stunts, Purin proclaimed, "Ichigo is in looooooooooove!" Ichigo stopped for a moment, but she didn't turn nor lift her head, instead she walked over to the seated customer and asked for their orders with her 'I'm-such-a-good-waitress' look plastered on her face. The mews just stared at her wide-eyed. "She's up to something," Zakuro said, making the other three girls face her, "like what?" they asked,

"I don't know, but it's going to be BIG, sop act natural ok" she answered, walking over to a woman and seating her, then with a glare, she asked for her order. The mews knew that she would say nothing more, so they left her be. "Fine by me" Mint sighed as they all returned to their daily **activities**. They all acted as if they noticed nothing, but Ichigo knew that she had them all baffled and she giggled to herself at the thought.

When Sunday came, Ryou had now noticed the change in her behavior and decided to **confront** her o n it. "Retasu, could you pleeeeeeaaase find out what's wrong with Ichigo" Ryou begged as Retasu blushed, "do you really love her that much?" he turned pale and sobered up. "No, I just don't want to see my…ultimate weapon to become a weakling" he said, then Retasu did something unexpected, she slapped Ryou. How dare you say that about Ichigo, she is a sweet girl and I won't do it unless you tell me why I should" she grumbled walking away, but Ryou pulled her back, "please, I care about her." He sighed, Retasu's eyes softened "tell me the truth, you love her, don't you?" she asked. "is it that obvious?" Ryou muttered, "yes it is, but I know as much as you do. Except one thing, last time she acted like this was your 19th surprise birthday party remember?" Retasu spoke softly. Ryou nodded, "do you think she's up to something?" he questioned, "sorry but I have no idea, oh and sorry for slapping you and all. It was wrong" she answered before running out of the café with Ryou following her. "Sorry, I have to get home now, goodbye" she yelled back, then she was out of site. "Damn you Ichigo, what are you up to?" he said to himself as he walked to his room to **rest**.

Ichigo giggled from ONLY hearing his last comment. 'you have no idea' then she ran from behind the café to her parents' house.

**me: This is a super funny story...  
kira: Is not, it's boring.  
me: Readers, this is my imaginary friend kira... and the storyis funny  
kira: Whatever, just read it (it gets better)  
me: Hey i heard that whacks kira over the head  
kira: OOOOOW! Read and review people  
me: XD haha...you got pwnd hit  
kira: I'll get you later...**

**me: ciao**


	2. Muddled up Minto

**(sooooo sorry for making all of you readers wait sop long, but i lost all of my work thanks to my sister and i just couldn't motivate myself to write it again, then i found my written copy and re wrote it, so tell me what you think... thanks BTW for all of your reviews peoples)**

**Copycat**

Chapter 2... Muddled up Minto

"Mum, dad, I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back in a few hours" Ichigo called out to her parents as she slammed the door and ran at full speed. "That's an odd thing to do" Ichigo's mother whispered, "It's almost midnight." Putting it behind her, she grabbed the remote to watch her late night movie.

As she silently crept up to a huge mansion, she gasped noticing how little security there was, but that wasn't why she was there. After turning off the tiny alarms and getting past the servants and guard dogs, she finally reached her destination; A small run-down shack that held the power grid for Mint's mansion. She flicked on the torch and opened it, "Oops, my bad..." She whispered as she flicked the switches carefully. "Power, off. Sprinklers, on. Tea importation? OFF. off, off, off, on, off, on... there" Ichigo sighed as she finished, putting the lid back on and leaving the mansion as quickly as possible.

* * *

Ryou had woken up from yet another dream and was sweating profusiously, the dream would not go away and he didn't know why. "Damn these forsaken dreams" he muttered as he slowly got up, allowing his feet to lead him out of the cafe and through the park. It was two in the morning and he was dead tired, but he now feared to fall asleep, for each time he did, he lost everything that he had ever loved over and over again, he could no longer stand it. The morning's rays hit him, making him turn and close his eyes, but as he opened them, he glared at his surroundings. "how dare you" he cursed to himself, Ryou had walked to a barren block of land, the ground covered in scorch marks, it was his parents' house. He noticed the four walls that once supported the giant place were now just fragments of stone and brick. It had haunted him for years and now everything was coming back to him, the pain, the loss, and the dreams. No longer caring, he ran as far away from it as possible, eventually reaching the cafe, where Keiichiro was waiting for him. It was now 7:30 and the four girls would be at the cafe by 8:00, Ichigo of course 8:30. Keiichiro had finally noticed Ryou and smiled kindly, "Where were you?" he asked worriedly, "meh, I went for a stroll" Ryou replied as he ascended the stairs towards his room. As Keiichiro watched Ryou, he could've sworn he had seen a tear fall, but he was behind in his baking from looking for Ryou so putting it behind him, he went back into the kitchen and finished preparing the desserts for the customers, putting Ryou's tear behind him for now. 

Ichigo put her alarm on and made sure she wasn't late for work, and as 8:00 came, the four girls entered the cafe, but there was a difference. instead of Zakuro, Purin, Minto and Retasu, it was Zakuro, Purin, Retasu and ICHIGO. walking in gracefully, she changed into her uniform and perched herself at Minto's usual table and poured herself a cup of lemon tea. the girls were confused by this and so were the customers, they too loved the entertainment of Ryou and Ichigo's arguments that resulted in her talking and talking until Ryou shut her up for a second with a kiss, or him blowing up at her. they even had made many tips to keep the 'show' going. Minto had eventually come at 8:30 and completely forgot about her tea (seeing Ichigo there made her think that she was sitting there instead) and today, they were completely bombarded with customers. All throughout the day, Ichigo sat at the table, drinking tea and bossing Minto around until she had finally had enough. "Minto, could you please pour me a glass of tea please?" Ichigo asked, waving her cup around like a bell, "why should i? you're just sitting there drinking tea all day while i'm working my butt off, DO IT YOURSELF-" Minto yelled, but Ichigo stopped her, "if I had wanted to do it myself, then what's the point of asking you?"

"Exactly" Minto replied, grabbing the teapot and filling her cup again. "Hey, wait no, not exactly!" Minto corrected, but she had already poured it so it was no use arguing anymore. Grumbling, she left Ichigo to sit and order her around. By the afternoon, only Ichigo and Minto remained, Minto to close up and Ichigo to torment her even more. "You missed a spot," she taunted as she pointed to a table, "WILL YOU GET OFF MY BACK, I'VE HAD A ROUGH DAY!" Minto retorted, making Ichigo pull a 'OMG' face. "What happened?" she asked, consoling her friend, "Well, first, my alarm didn't go off, then there was no electricity in the rooms, then there was no hot water and the closest thing to a shower was the sprinklers that refused to turn off, then my limo was cancelled, then my tea importation didn't come and then I got bossed around by YOU all day!" she said angrily. Ichigo started to follow through with the second part of her plan. "why are you so upset with me? I did nothing, I think that you should be blaming Ryou, I mean he was the one that made you become a mew and work all these looooong hours, and I think you deserve something for your troubles" Minto had calmed down and once taking everything in, agreed with Ichigo. "You're right, I think I deserve a raise!" she exclaimed, running up the stairs at full speed, then there was silence and soon after was folllowed by an innocent scream saying, "RYOU YOU SHOULD PUT A SHIRT ON, YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY GIRLS AND I think that I deserve a raise..." a loud laugh was heard from the room and minutes later, a blushing Minto stomped down the stairs. "sooooo?" Ichigo questioned as Minto walked towards her, "he said no!" she muttered, grabbing the rag and cleaning another table. "Well I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow!" Ichigo said poshly as she walked out of the cafe.

"Stupid Ryou, not giving me a raise, why doesn't anything go right?" she asked herself, then a voice from behind startled her. "What do you mean?" he asked, Minto turned to see that it was none other than Keiichiro, blushing she told him the story, adding a bit more. "-plus, there's this guy that i like, but i don't know if he feels the same way about me, i wish he knew." She finished looking at him. He turned to her and sighed, "Damn, Minto I wish I were him." Keiichiro burst out, his polite manner finally cracking, Minto was confused but understood once Keiichiro had locked lips with her. Once they had broken free for air, Minto looked at him with star struck eyes, "Keiichiro, I was reffering to you" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled, "good, because if it were anyone else, I would've been quite upset... Minto, I love you," he replied, kissing her tenderly, "ditto" Minto said.

As Keiichiro drove Minto home, Ichigo silently cheered. she had in fact not gone home but had hidden in a tree next to the cafe where she watched the whole thing take place. "Mission Minto and Keiichiro is a success" she whispered as she moved from her branch. She was about to jump off when she heard the moaning of something in Ryou's room, she climbed down and walked back into the cafe, quietly climbing the stairs and reaching his room. She opened the door and knew who was making the sound, it was Ryou. he was having a nightmare and since Ichigo knew nothing about it, her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself walking over to Ryou and kneeling down, singing a lullaby and calming him down. "Hush my dear, wait til the morning comes, when all of your troubles will be gone. Hush my child, tomorrow is a new day, and I will be the one to guide you along the way. Hush my sweet, the angels look upon you, like I always do. Hush my dear, for I am always here." Moving the hair away from his face she noticed many things, like how he seemed so restless during the night, yet he never showed any emotions during the day. Who was this other person that she could see, all Ichigo knew was that there was another side of Ryou, a side she wished she knew more about. then Ryou started to wake up, "oh shisen housen, I gotta go" she cursed as she ran out of the cafe and to her next destination...

**(ooh where is she off too next? i know! i'll give you some clues, it's a girl, and she has two eyes, a nose and a mouth... ooh and she has hair too, on her head! well R&R if you want the third chapter. and BTW, shisen housen is like a word for $h!t... if u know what i mean.  
luv me, tartarbabe)**


	3. Reversed Retasu

Finally… the long wait is over peoples and the third chapter is up!!! Hope ya like it :O

Chapter three- reversing retasu

Ryou sat up with a start, a cold sweat dripping like an ocean around him. Regaining his breath he looked around in confusion, he could've sworn he had heard and felt someone near him and for a minute or two his dream had calmed down and he could see the silhouette of his ichigo in the fire. However, the calmness was soon gone and the fire had once again engulfed her. He could still imagine the pain inside his heart and he longed to see his kitten and hold her tight, however, had more important things to do and once he calmed down, he got up to shower, preparing for another day in his own hell.

Ichigo however, was in a complete different location then the café. In front of her stood an ordinary house, apart from the fact that EVERYTHING looked spotless, even the dirt had its own shine. Ichigo stood in awe until she glanced at her watch. "oh my gosh it's midnight! I have to be fast!" she whispered in a worried voice as she circled the house, looking for an entrance. In a room at the back of the house, a window was closed but not locked. Ichigo cheered silently as she entered quietly.

As her feline eyes became adapt to the darkness, she sighed in annoyance. She had hit the jackpot, however it wasn't was she was hoping. The room was a pale green, indicating that this was in fact the room of the mew she had been searching for, however all over the floor and on the benches and cupboards were hundreds upon hundreds of alarm clocks, all set for five am. 'oh retasu… this'll be fun' she thought as she got to work on each and every one. Three hours later, ichigo sighed as she turned off the last one. 'finally, damn it retasu, I'll kill you one day for this' ichigo mused as she was about to jump out of the window, however, her senses tingled and she found herself being led to the bed where the sleeping mew lay. It was just as she had feared, two more alarms, one on her wristwatch and one under her pillow.

Ichigo was sweating profusely as she left the house and closed the thick blinds that would block out any morning rays. It had taken her another half an hour to turn of both the watch and the alarm under the pillow seeing as the watch beeped with every button she pressed and well… the alarm was under her pillow! As she ran home, she thought about ryou and his nightmare. "what were you dreaming of ryou?" she asked herself, turning the corner to catch a glimpse of her house. Her legs worked faster then ever as she imagined her large fluffy bed awaiting her arrival. Too bad she was stopped dead in her tracks by a certain alien who was now embracing her from behind 'just on time' she thought as she played her part. "hi kisshu-chan!" she said in a sweet voice, hiding her hate and malice only because this was what she was planning to happen. Kisshu was confused beyond belief at the kindness in her voice and slowly put her down before standing in front of her, "hi neko, how's it going?" he said in a happy voice,

"oh it's ok I guess, yourself?"

"I was just wandering around this planet looking for flaws when I caught a glimpse of my own"

"oh you mean retasu? Yes, she told me that she had seen a human who resembled you in the library attempting to read. She said that when she came closer, you blushed and ran away. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"m-me, heh he… of course not, I mean why would I want to spend my time in a boring place like that."

"boring? The library is full of books that tell us stories that we only dream to be in" ichigo said, her eyes sparkling as if she was retasu as she recited a line of hers. Kisshu's face scrunched up in disgust, "that's what she said, but it's all boring-" kisshu said before paling and throwing his hands over his mouth. But it was too late because ichigo's warm smile had transformed into a wide smirk, so wide that she could've out done the Cheshire cat. Kisshu felt a sense of foreboding overcome him as a blush painted itself on his face. "so you do go to the library" she retorted, pointing an accusing finger at him. "n-no I was just getting umm… research on our next attack, yeah"

"really? Well I was also told that this human was getting very close to my friend and had promised to meet her." Kisshu's blush was now deeper then blood and he backed away slowly. "now why would i-he do that?"

"maybe because y-he secretly liked her but he thought that his first crush wouldn't understand. But I think that she does and that maybe retasu and this boy should… meet up" kisshu stood pondering as ichigo watched his emotions play across his face. "ok then, how about 5, after work?" kisshu said, knowing how she was always early, "make it 6, I think she'll be staying longer then you'd think. Now I have to go and sleep sp that I'm early. By kisshu-chan!" ichigo said, placing a kiss on the alien's cheek and running off.

Normally kisshu would've been on top of the world at the fact that his neko had been so kind to him and had actually kissed him, however, he had met someone who understood him more then anyone else. "I'll do it ichigo… thank you" he said before orbing off to an unknown place.

Ichigo smiled tiredly as she turned on her alarm and crawled into bed, yawning. It was now 4:30 am and she had to get up in less then three hours, luckily though she was a cat and could regain the sleep another time. "good luck kisshu" she whispered before falling into a great slumber.

That morning, ichigo entered the café to see surprised faces all looking at her. Too bad the one person she had wanted to see wasn't there, zakuro looked up from her magazine and nodded in understanding as she slowly sipped her coffee and returned to her magazine. Ichigo smiled and changed quickly, emerging with two plaits in her hair. She walked into the kitchen as she heard keiichiro humming a happy tune, good morning asaka-san, you seem happier this morning" ichigo said as keiichiro turned with a smile on her face. "I am"

"why?"

"I'll tell you later" he said as a small blush crept onto his face, causing ichigo to smirk inwardly. She had just caught minto entering the café when keiichiro turned and excused himself. "uh minto-san, may I please have a word with you about your… uniform?" keiichiro said as he led her to the store room. Ichigo smirked and crept over to the small window, only to see the two embracing each other lovingly. Ichigo sighed, but a look at her watch made her smirk, it was 8:28 and retasu still wasn't there.

Ichigo walked out of the kitchen to start ordering when a flustered retasu barged in through the door, catching her breath and heading towards the changing rooms. She came out in her uniform and her hair in pig tails, seconds later, she was at work, serving, taking orders and cleaning while ichigo continuously dropped her orders and tripped over herself. "gomen" ichigo said, bowing twenty times before running into the kitchen to get another plate, she was however, stopped by retasu who's face was red with annoyance and dirtier then ever. "what's wrong retasu-san?" ichigo said with an innocent voice, "uhh… would you be able to work on the registers please" retasu replied, causing ichigo's face to purposely fall. "I know I'm clumsy and I don't mean it. I do try my best" she said before heading for the registers shyly. "sorry ichigo but the café's just too busy for you to be messing up." She said quietly before rushing towards another customer.

By the time the day had ended, retasu was laying on one of the tables looking as tired as ever. Ichigo had just changed back into her normal clothes and was about to 'leave' when she saw retasu, "oh hello retasu-san, you look tired? Why were you late?" ichigo asked sweetly, watching retasu's face redden in anger. "you want to know why I'm tired?" she yelled, luckily everyone was gone and ryou was in the basement which was soundproof. "I'm tired because I've been working all day while you and purin have been messing around, and zakuro is scaring the customers away and minto… SHE DOES NOTHING BUT BOSS ME AROUND!!! And for some reason I had forgotten to turn on my alarms and I had closed my curtains so I got up late!" she yelled in anger, not noticing the smirk that flew across ichigo's face before her mask fell back into place. "that's horrible retasu-san, but you shouldn't be yelling at me. Ryou's the one that makes you work long hours," ichigo said reassuringly as retasu nodded. "you're right ichigo, I think I deserve a raise." She said before heading for the basement.

Silence was heard until a loud scream and a "RYOU PUT A SHIRT ON DAMN IT! And I think I should get a raise" then a male laugh was heard and a blushing retasu stomped up the stairs in a huff. "he said no?" ichigo said kindly, earning a glare as retasu nodded. "he said that if he did then he'd have to charge me for all of the plates I've broken." She replied, watching ichigo walk towards her with a cloth. "maybe cleaning will help you relax, it always works for me." She said with fake enthusiasm as she handed over the cloth and waved goodbye, walking out of the café only to see kisshu. "hey kisshu-chan, retasu's inside waiting for you" she said, walking off.

Kisshu orbed into the café, only to see his retasu cleaning tables with an angered look on her face. Kisshu mused that if she accepted him, that she would never have to frown like that again. Resolving himself, he crept towards the porpoise and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to turn around and vent her anger on him before even realizing who he was. "what the heck do you want you big jerk?" she said before a pair of arms gently encircled her and the person whispered in her ear "you."

Retasu was more then surprised when she heard the voice with such love that she almost lost herself in the embrace, however, she knew that this was kisshu, the evil alien trying to take over the planet and the one who was after ichigo. Regrettably, she pushed herself out of his arms saying, "I'm sorry kisshu-san, but you're pursuing ichigo-san and you're trying to take over the planet. I can't be yours" too bad it was at that moment that kisshu tightened his grasp, effectively stopping her escape. He shook his head and chuckled slightly, "I don't want to be an evil alien who pursues others as you said, I want to be yours and you mine. I'd give up anything to be with you" kisshu said as retasu gasped. Loosening his grip, he looked into her eyes and said the tree words he had longed to say to her for a while. "I love you" he said, closing the distance and slowly kissing the green haired girl. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she kissed back with happiness, when they broke, a smile formed on her face and kisshu lifted her up, orbing off towards her house as she clung to him.

Ichigo watched from her usual tree as a smile formed on her cat-like features. "operation retasu and kisshu complete" she said before sighing and turning around. She was about to jump out when her mind wandered to ryou, 'I wonder if he's ok, maybe I should just take a peek' she thought as she entered the café and headed towards his room. The door was slightly ajar, showing her a shirtless ryou tossing around with a contorted look on his face, ichigo knelt beside him and saw tears that threatened to spill. She found herself curious to know what he was dreaming about, when a single word found it's way into her ears. "ichigo" he moaned, it was said with such depression and despair that ichigo was instantly worried and gently placed a hand on his forehead, brushing away a lone strand of his blonde hair. His face seemed to calm down as she touched him however she knew she had to leave, so unconsciously placing a chaste kiss on his lips, she left his side to return to her plan, not knowing what it was she had just done.

Oh no… what has she done??? R&R to read the rest of this story. I like feedback peoples!!!


	4. Puzzled Purin

Me- Ok peoples… the wait is over

Drum roll please………………..

Kira- drama queen

Me- whatever… have fuuun

Chapter 4 - puzzled Purin

Ryou opened his eyes, a sad smile forming on his features. He had been dreaming again, however, the blonde felt a warm hand on his forehead and was instantly drawn from his dreams and slowly into reality. He felt something press against his lips softly before removing themselves and the door closed quietly. 'had I been dreaming?' he thought as he looked out of the window, seeing no one. He was sure that it was ichigo but he couldn't tell because he had still been half asleep and unable to open his eyes.

Feeling that his heart was going to tear itself from his body if he didn't get up, ryou sighed and headed back down to the lab. His mind was now filled with other questions as he pulled on his shirt, 'why did both minto and retasu ask for raises when it's more then clear that they do not deserve it? Yet in those two days ichigo hasn't even spoken to me… something is going on, and I don't like it' he thought as he ran a scan on Tokyo. The usual red light that showed danger refused to activate causing the young boy to sigh as he dropped his head in his hands. It was times like these when he wished that ichigo could see the truth.

With ichigo

Ichigo was at a loss, "how the heck do I make such a hyper child late?" she muttered as she sat on the cold pavement. She had been there for half an hour and still was as clueless as ever, 'curse you candy' she cried inwardly before realization hit her. "heh he… purrfect" she mewled before her hands threw themselves over her mouth and her tail and ears popped out, she felt as if she'd never get used to that cat-like features. Shaking her head she headed for the department store, a smirk evident on her face. "hi," she said in an innocent voice, the man at the register eyed her accusingly before glancing at her attire. A smile found it's way on the large man's face before he responded, "yes kitten?" he asked as he glanced at her head. Ichigo looked up to see that her ears had re appeared and a terrified screech emitted from her mouth and she covered the ears, too bad that her tail decided to show and was twitching madly. "just direct me to the candy section" she cried as the man pointed and she ran off, "weird teenager" he muttered as he continued to read his magazine. One of the articles was about the famous super heroes, "the mew mews." He looked at the leader confused as he turned his head back to the direction the girl had gone in. she had just returned with a large stash of candies and some black items in her hands. "sorry about that sir, I just came from a costume party" ichigo said as she lifted up the black items. He nodded and scanned the candy. Ichigo paid for it all and looked at the article. "who are those girls?" she asked the man who stared at her in disbelief. "these are the famous super girls, they're so cute but my favourite is the pink one" he said, drooling a little. Ichigo twitched before her smile reformed and she left as fast as possible.

'what the hell- I have ugly old men in my fanclub' she cried inwardly as she headed for a lone house on the street. The windows were weak and some had even fallen off, however, ichigo knew that it was a house full of love… Soon to be a house full of hyperactive children. Ichigo jumped through the window and looked around to see what looked like a zoo, seven little children and ten little monkeys, all in one cramped room. ichigo sighed as she began to place all of the candy under each of their pillows. She was finished in half an hour and smirked in satisfaction as she ran home.

Ichigo was pleased with herself, it had been one of the quickest and she was now able to sleep for longer. "and not even an interruption" she sighed, crawling deeper into her blankets. That was, before she heard the call of her pendant, "I've got it" she whispered, hearing the beeping silence. Ichigo sighed, "too good to be true" she growled, transforming and following the pendant to a familiar discount store. "oh geez, it's my number one fan…" she cursed as she saw a small kid with brown pig tails yelling at the man. "taruto, just the alien I wanted to see" she said boredly as he tured to glare at her. "YOU!" he screeched, pointing wildly as he floated in the air, "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO MADE KISSHU FALL HEAD OVER HEELS, WELL YOU SURE AS HELL AIN'T GETTING ME TO FALL FOR PURIN, I HATE YOU HUMANS!" he ranted as Ichigo merely giggled, "but tar tar… I said nothing about Purin, you did. This means that I was correct in thinking that you have a crush on her." The tiny alien scoffed at her words before calling forth an alien, using the shopkeeper's soul. "bad move" Ichigo said as she looked at the large green lizard-like creature. Mustering up her most seductive smile, she winked at the monster. "hey there, I don't think that you'd want to hurt me… I thought you liked me," Ichigo pouted as the soul began to argue with the jelly like creature it was fused with. "now cutie, capture that mean little alien" Ichigo yelled as it complied and soon had taruto in the shopkeeper/evil monster's grasp. "LET-GO-BAKA!" he yelled as he attempted to scream. "ha ha ha I told you it was fruitless to deny the pull of fate, now I know you hold feelings for Purin, you don't need to tell me. Just voice it in your own way… and do it tomorrow or I'll set your friends against you got it?" Ichigo threatened as the young alien came to terms. "maybe I do care about her a LITTLE… and I MAY go to her tomorrow after work. BUT ONLY FOR A SECOND! I'M NOT WEAK LIKE KISSHU"

"he isn't weak taruto, he is strong because he was willing to give up his mission to be with the one he cares about" taruto nodded and the lizard man dropped him at Ichigo's command. "don't think that we're best buddies now wench cos we're not" he yelled as he de-fused the shopkeeper and orbed off. "are you ok sir?" Ichigo asked as a smile radiated on her face. He nodded as she continued. "I'd like to thank you for helping me back there, your strength is uncanny and I have faith that you can be something if you just persevere." Ichigo winked, running out of the shop and heading for home. "finally" she sighed as she put her alarm on and fell asleep.

Ichigo entered the café early as she had for the past few days as she glanced at the three who had already entered. "good morning y'all" she said cheerily as she changed into her outfit and opened the café. "8:00 guys, let's get to work!" Ichigo cheered as she began to work, hiding her victorious smirk with a happy-go-lucky smile.

Purin eventually entered at 8:30, puffing and panting as she was barely able to make it to the change rooms. "hihi Purin-chan na no da!" Ichigo cheered as she served customers on a ball. Purin just sighed in annoyance as she began to also serve customers.

"Purin, Ichigo dropped a strawberry cake!" Retasu said

"I didn't mean it, I'll do it right this-crash-oops" Ichigo cried

"Purin, she just broke another three plates and a cup" Retasu called

"I've got it" Purin said as she cleaned the mess but not before hearing Minto pipe up. "oh Purin, please get me some tea seeing as Ichigo is trying to pour it blindfolded and is aiming for the register" she said calmly. "NO ICHIGO!" Purin called as she turned and sprayed the liquid on the floor. "g-go-gomen ne" Ichigo sniffled as Purin calmed her down and moved to clean up the mess.

-crash-

"Purin, Ichigo broke a plate!"

"ok I've got it"

-squish-

"Purin, Ichigo dropped a cake"

"coming"

-whoa… CRASH! CRUMBLE! BANG!!!-

"Purin, Ichigo slipped and fell on the chairs and now they're on the floor"

"alright"

-squeeeeeeee! POP!-

"Purin, Ichigo's ball popped and she dropped the food"

"ICHIGO!!!" Purin yelled as the pink haired girl looked at her from upside down. "yes, the café is closed na no da… so what is it?"

"STOP BREAKING PLATES, STOP MAKING A MESS, HELP ME HERE I'M OVERWORKED!!!" Purin yelled as she threw the rag on the floor. Ichigo pretended to sympathize with the girl as she spoke. "why are yo so upset Purin-chan?"

"why? I'll tell you why. Somehow my sister and brothers found heaps of candy and then they refused to listen and were really hyper. Then once I had finally gotten them to school I was late and then you kept breaking things and you always messed up your tricks and I had to clean up after you all day. THAT'S WHY I'M MAD!" Ichigo feigned confusion.

"But why are you mad at me Purin-chan. It's Ryou who's making you work so hard," Purin understood as her resolve strengthened. "yeah… I should ask him for a raise!" Purin went up stairs and second later she heard a "RYOU PUT A SHIRT ON!" a few minuets later, an angry and blushing Purin stomped down the stairs. "did he say no? na no da?" Purin nodded as Ichigo smiled and threw the rag in the young girl's face. "too bad, anyways you have tables to clean while I go home. Bye bye Purin-chan" Ichigo smiled as she left, opting to instead sit in her usual spying tree and watch the next scene unfold.

Purin was cleaning the tables, grumbling about bosses who don't give to those who deserve it when she felt a familiar presence nearby. Immediately her pendant went off "I've got it" she whispered to it as the beeping went away, "hi hi tar tar, why are you here?" Purin asked tiredly as she just looked at the tiny hovering alien. Sensing her distress, he dropped to her level and looked deeply into her eyes. "I-I have a-a g-gift for y-you P-Purin." He stuttered as a blush adorned his cheeks, he couldn't believe that he was doing this but after seeing her forlorn face, he couldn't say no. quicker then ever, taruto pulled out a gift wrapped box and turned before he could see her reaction. "what is it?" Purin asked

"it's a present… from… me" his blush returned, now beginning to show on Purin's face as well. "whoa" the little monkey opened the gift to see a bag of candy, all different colors. "wow tar tar, you even got my favourite candy, thank you" she said as she hugged him tightly. "well… I just wanted to tell you… that-that… I-I like you" silence was heard before Purin innocently placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "me too" smiles adorned both of their faces as they hugged. "hey tar tar you wanna go play at the park, my brothers and sister won't be back until later tonight."

"I'd love to" taruto said as they both ran off giggling.

"aww how cute" Ichigo sighed as she went to jump out of the tree. That was until she hear a feminine voice behind her. "so this was your plan all along huh?" Ichigo turned around to see purple haired woman and a stern look on her face. "oh hey Zakuro how's the weather?" Ichigo said as she rubbed the back of her head nervously, the wolf-girl just sighed as she continued. "fine Ichigo, I shall comply with your little act of affection, I will not however, be forced into caring about that tall, strong… uh brainy alien got it?" she glared, blushing lightly and hoping that Ichigo wasn't as perceptive as she seemed. Ichigo nodded insincerely as she watched the older woman leave. 'hmm, so Zakuro, you like nerdy pants eh? Ok then we'll see what we can do' Ichigo thought as she looked into Ryou's room. 'I wonder what he dreams of' she thought as he seemed to toss a little. 'maybe just a peek' she thought as she entered the room.

'I knew it' Ryou thought as he watched her enter through the window. Ryou hated being confused and he had to know if her presence was a reality or just a dream. He had been right in saying that she was truly there. As she watched him with a worried expression, he stilled and became relaxed by her presence. "goodnight Ryou" Ichigo whispered as she leant in to kiss his lips lightly and was about to leave when she saw his eyes open. "Ichigo?" he said confused as the pink haired girl's eyes became as large as saucers. "no don't go" Ryou called, but it was too late because she had jumped out of the window and was gone in an instant. Touching his lips, Ryou fell asleep, finally having a good dream of strawberries and kittens.

"damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Ichigo cursed as she sped towards her home. 'why did I kiss him?' she asked herself, finally stopping in the middle of the road. Ichigo touched her lips as Zakuro's words echoed through her ears,

"_fine Ichigo, I shall comply with your little act of affection, I will not however, be forced into caring about that tall, strong… uh brainy alien got it?"_

"what ever Zakuro, I may have fallen for that over pompous and arrogant jerk, but that doesn't mean that I'm giving up on you." Ichigo resolved as she turned and headed for Zakuro's mansion, this would be her most difficult task she had ever faced.

Kira- is it over yet?

Me- kira… you're meant to support me

Kira- ok then… please review

Me- thankyou! Ok signing off


	5. Just a friendly little message

Hey readers… I bet you know who's next.

Me - Don't worry because it's written and ready, I just have been really busy with school and all. But it will be posted. (as soon as I find it -.-;)

Kira: … please don't tell me you lost the damn chapter!!!

Me: no no no kira… it's not what you think- AAAH!

Kira: don't worry folks, I have it all under control.

Me: please… call… an… ambulance…

Kira: it'll be up by the end of the week! 


	6. Zigzag Zakuro

Me: what did I say??? Huh? Huh???

Kira:…

Me: say iiiit!!! 

Kira: y………it

Me: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that… say it louder

Kira: you d..it

Me: huh???

Kira: OK YOU DID IT!!! YOU FOUND THE DAMN STORY AND YOU HAVE POSTED IT!!! HAPPY???

Me: yup… and before the end of the week!!! Now drum roll please…

Kira:…

Me: kira… I'm waiting

Kira: tap

Me: that'll do… now on with the show

Chapter 5 - zigzag Zakuro

She knew that she was coming, she just had to. And as Zakuro sat in her room, eyes wide open and alert, she waited. "I'll wait all night if I have to Ichigo, I shall not be bested" she whispered to herself while Ichigo watched inconspicuously from the far window. 'curses, how will I prank her?' she inwardly grumbled until her brains returned once again. 'her own paranoia will be her prank. She'll stay up all night and then she'll be too tired to come early. Hehehe piece of cake' her mind conjured up thoughts of how Zakuro would be her own downfall and a sinister smirk found its way to her already evil looking face. 'have fun Zakuro' She thought before she left seconds later without a worry in the world, setting out to find a certain brainy alien.

Standing in the middle of a familiar park she glanced at her watch. "pendant, don't fail me now" she said before it decided to grant her wish and it began to beep like crazy. "I've got it" she whispered before turning around to see… kish. "KISH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE??? WHERE'S PAI???" she screeched when the young alien felt true fear. "it wasn't my fault, he knew what we were planning and he locked himself in his room-" Ichigo wasn't going to hear anymore, in seconds she had her arms wrapped around kish's torso and her determination set. "take me NOW" she growled watching as he nodded in fear and orbed them both onto the ship. Ichigo felt weird as they sped through space, she felt at a loss of breath yet totally at ease. When it was finally over she took a large gulp of breath and fell to the floor. Kish just laughed openly, saying something about first time teleporting but Ichigo wasn't listening, she had only one thing in her mind at that moment, 'get Pai.'

Pai was lying in his room on his large plush bed as he thought over his actions. He just had to keep away from the one thing that he wanted the most, Zakuro. She would cause his betrayal and he would rather lock himself away then betray deep blue and fall for the enemy like he had already done. "stupid idiot, stop thinking like that, you are fighting for your planet, you can't just flirt with the creatures who are ruining our beautiful land. Get it together" he said to himself but it wasn't working. Screaming in frustration he began to attack his room, sending lightning bolts everywhere and destroying all he could see. When he was completely out of energy he slumped onto his makeshift bed and thought again as sweat trickled down his body. "Zakuro" he panted, extending his hand to reach something that clearly wasn't there. He would've continued his delusions had an angered red head not smashed down his door with one kick. He glared at the girl before moving his sight towards the little green alien in the corner frightened. "what the hell do you want?" Pai snapped, sending the catgirl into an orbit.

"you want to know what the hell I want?" she screamed

"don't start her" kish begged

"yes wench, what do you want?" Pai growled in response

"I told you not to start her" kish said simply as Ichigo's face turned evil and Pai felt a sense of foreboding. "I WANT YOU TO SUCK UP YOUR PRIDE, THINK ABOUT OTHERS FOR ONCE AND TELL ZAKURO HOW YOU TRULLY FEEL!!!" she yelled, her anger being unleashed on the poor alien in front of her. He sat there confused and feeling like crap as Ichigo calmed down from her five second fury bomb and a look of sadness flew across her face. "Zakuro really cares for you but she is torn between her honor and her heart. She needs you to guide her and be there to support her, just tell her how you feel. No deep blue, no advice, just what you feel inside" Pai had to agree with the catgirl who was for once making sense, he loved her. It wasn't just a fleeting spark but a flame that burned within him, sending his body into flames at the sound of her name. he burned with need and want but his honor, like her own, kept them apart. 'who cares, she means more to me then deep blue's orders ever could' he thought, his resolve becoming stronger with each thought of his violet haired beauty.

"you're right" he finally said, shocking both Ichigo and kish

"I am?" she said in disbelief, watching as he nodded and turned towards the two. "I do care for her a lot, so I shall tell her"

"ok then but do it tomorrow k? because I'm going to get her ready for you" Ichigo's mile grew three times in that second and she clung to kish again. "bye bye smarty pants" she screamed before being orbed off. A faint smile made its way across the alien's face as he moved back to find the words to say.

Ichigo was now in front of Zakuro's mansion, snickering lightly with kish looking confused. "why are you laughing and grass?" he asked, noticing her bent figure racked with giggles. "because… Zakuro should be awake still, waiting for me to prank her but I won't come. Instead YOU'LL stay with her all night at make a quick noise if she falls asleep ok?" Ichigo had by now calmed down and was looking at kish sternly. He was as pale as a ghost as horror crept upon his face. "you owe me" he growled before floating over to the window and opening it lightly. The groan of the wood caused the actress to jump in fright and look around, her eyes showing annoyance. Ichigo giggled again at the thought of Zakuro tomorrow as she ran home finally. "eep, midnight again, I need more-yawn-sleep" she whishered as she crept into bed and into the land of nod.

"I know you're here Ichigo, I can sense you" Zakuro said in a raspy voice as she looked towards the far window and saw a shadow with what looked like pig tails. Her smirk widened though lopsided as it was already, "hah see, I knew it" she laughed, "but you will never get my jellybeans HAHAHA!!!!" kish sighed lightly, she had become delusional minutes ago and he didn't know how much more he could take. He looked at the watch which he had 'obtained' a while ago and read it carefully. 'an hour left please hurry up' he thought as the madwoman had resorted to throwing invisible cats. 'kami save me' he prayed.

Ichigo had come into the café hesitantly, the thought of Zakuro sitting next to Minto with a smug look on her face was something she didn't want to be subject to. Thankfully, the only one in the café was herself, the others would soon be running in and no sooner said did they enter, stopping with surprised looks on their faces. Pulling her most serious face, Ichigo strolled into the change rooms and got herself ready. Customers began to flood in, more then usual when they noticed Ichigo's personality changes. "come" she said to a couple, her face sending shivers down their spines. "well… what do you want?" she said, glaring. "I want my mommy" the man said, bursting into tears, Ichigo just sighed as Zakuro normally did in those situations and walked off to get another victi-customer. It was 8:30 and Zakuro was still not there, Ichigo hid her smirk once she saw a flustered and tired Zakuro came rushing in. she glared at Ichigo before changing and running out to help. She tried so hard but playing the role of Ichigo when you were wrecked seemed a lot easier then glaring at everyone, and so by the end of the day she was wrecked beyond belief. Everyone had left minus Ichigo and herself and she was watching the lavender haired woman cleaned. "what's wrong Zakuro, cat got your tongue?" Ichigo teased causing Zakuro to glare. "I understand why it is your job as leader is the hardest ok, I don't need added stress" she growled in return.

"well, all you have to do to get out of this is ask a certain someone what you really feel like at the moment" Zakuro looked up confused until it hit her. She ran up the stairs and into Ryou's room as the other girls had and once again he was shirtess. "REALLY RYOU GET A DAMN SHIRT ON, I THOUGHT YOU WOULD'VE FIGURED TO DO SO AFTER IT HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES!!!!" Ichigo heard before minutes later an angered Zakuro stormed down the steps. "he said no didn't he" Zakuro only glared at her comment, opting to ignore her and finish cleaning. "well I'm off Zakuro, have fun" Ichigo cheered, running off and choosing a different tree that still showed a great view but was higher up.

Pai orbed into the café and wrapped his arms around Zakuro's waist, saying nothing as the girl stiffened and blushed. "I missed your touch my love" he whispered, watching as she turned and wrapped her won arms around his neck. She kissed him lightly and heard a crash from outside. What she didn't see was that Ichigo's jaw had dropped to the ground from the tree. 'THEY WERE TOGETHER THE WHOLE DAMN TIME!?!?!' she yelled inwardly, still watching their acts of affection. "you were right Zakuro, Ichigo did come to me. But can you believe she actually broke down my door."

"well you were in denial, how could you leave me alone?"

"I'm sorry my love, I'll never leave you again" Pai placed another kiss on her lips and Ichigo couldn't help but feel happy, she had after all, brought peace to the world. Sighing, Ichigo felt a tear fall which she quickly wiped away. She glanced momentarily up to Ryou's room, only to find him staring at her cheek where her tear once fell. Ichigo gasped and left before he could say anything or see the flood of tears that had now found their way out. He didn't try to stop her, he was just thinking and wondering why she was being… someone else.

When Ichigo arrived home she ran into her room, tears now flowing freely as she poured her heart out to her pet masha. "why did he have to leave me masha, I gave him everything I had and he left still. Was I not pretty enough? not smart enough? To annoying? Too busy? Maybe it was because I was a freak. It doesn't matter though because I can never be what he wanted me to be. But it hurts to lose him after being with him for so long." Masha listened intently as she continued to speak. "that' s another reason why I brought the others together, so that they wouldn't feel as alone as I feel now." Masha decided to pipe in now,

"Ryou love! Ryou love!" he chanted, making her blush a little.

"me or him?"

"Ryou love Ichigo! Ryou love Ichigo!" he chirped. Ichigo figured it already but it still seemed surreal, she was so deep in thought she didn't notice the problem until masha was falling. "masha what's wrong?" she asked when his eyes went blank. Dead. She immediately ran out of the house and towards her work.

"it's a sleep mode, usually programmed in so that when it reveals important information or is about to, it shuts down. For security purposes, like when the aliens kidnapped masha. If he had said anything, the same thing would've occurred." Keiichiro explained, turning on the tiny robot. "so how's Minto?" Ichigo eased, watching the blush form on the older man's face. "I'm fine Ichigo" the blue haired girl answered as she saw Ichigo's grin widen. "ok then thanks" she said before grabbing masha and running back home. 'important information ne? I wonder if Ryou did that so that masha wouldn't tell me what Ryou couldn't. too bad he stuffed up' Ichigo thought as she went to bed, she was going to get a full nights sleep.

The catgirl did get a full nights sleep… PLUS an extra half hour. It was eight by the time she awoke and all hell broke loose, she was clean, dressed and ready to go by ten past and did so, getting into the café by the usual time of 8:30. Minto's usual greeting met her ears, "well, well. I see you're reverting back to your old self"

"well good morning to you too mrs akasaka" Ichigo retorted, changing and working hard without a fuss. Even Minto's constant nagging and Zakuro's glares and broken plates didn't make her waver. The girls watched in confusion, choosing to stop working and watch their leader do all of their jobs in less time then it took all of them together to do. When the last customer left, Ichigo grabbed her rag and began to soar, making everything shine. The girls were still there when she finished and she merely glanced at them curiously before turning from where she was standing to see blue orbs finding her own. "girls" he said in a deep voice which she felt she hadn't heard in years. "we will be having the annual ball tomorrow night so I'll need you all in appropriate dresses. Keiichiro has taken his time in creating your dresses and don't be late" he glanced towards Ichigo a second longer then he should've before retreating back up to his room. keiichiro handed them each a box before following Ryou up. When he entered the young boy's room he found him sulking again. "why didn't you tell Ichigo you made her dress?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"because, you know. She… I… look just don't worry about it" Ryou stumbled upon his words, feeling keiichiro's slight glare. "whatever Ryou but she already knows, masha spilled before shutting down." He expained before leaving to see the girls, even he hadn't seen Ichigo's design.

"one at a time ok?" Minto suggested, pulling out her own. It was long and a pale blue with a deep blue collar and hem. She also had a long coat which was deep blue. Retasu opened hers to see a green gown with emerald flowers going down as it flowed to the ground. Purin's was gold with golden ribbons around the bottom and Zakuro's was lavender and flat with deep purple beads that made swirls down her dress. They all waited for Ichigo but she seemed hesitant, "I'll let you see tomorrow" she said before running off, ignoring their calls. She was going to wow everyone, including Ryou…

Kira: you know that wasn't that bad at all…

Me: . really??? Oh kira my love, that's all I've ever wanted to hear from your sweet lips-

Kira: for an amateur

Me: 0.0 grrrrrr that's it!!! I'm getting a new sidekick

Athrun Zala: choose me!

Inuyasha: no me

Sesshoumaru: I wish to elect myself as your mate

Me:…

Ryou: me!

Me: baka you can't be my sidekick you'd know the end of the story!!!

Night: I would love to be with you forever

Me: oh my please no more or I'll have a nose bleed

Kyohei: hi

Oda: ohayo princess

Yukinojo: hi hi!

Mori: hey

Me: aaaaaah major nosebleed knocked unconscious

Kira: oops… r&r and vote who should become her next victim-oh I mean sidekick.


	7. The Truth Hurts

Me: Hey there ninjaz I finally did it

Me: Hey there ninjaz I finally did it! I finally got to 100!!

Sidekick: umm actually it's over 100 but that doesn't matter. Now are you going to tell everyone who I am??

Me: yea sure… but first I just wanna thank everyone who reviewed. I've never really said it because I forget, but I just want you all to know that it puts a smile on my face with every review I read. So keep 'em coming people!! :D

Sidekick: noooow??

Me: yes ok… at the end

Sidekick: aaargh… fine

Truth hurts

It was the night of the annual ball and everyone who was anyone was there, drinking and celebrating the yearly occasion. Even a few certain aliens were there in tuxedos as they pouted at the idea of having to walk everywhere. "honestly Pai, if I had wanted to walk I'd become a human" kish grumbled but all of his nagging died on his tongue when he saw his green haired beauty in her stunning dress. "wow" was all that he could say as he extended his arm to take her own and escorted her inside. Soon after, Purin and Zakuro found their partners and mint was chatting to other wealthy families with keiichiro at her side. Ryou was sitting boredly at a table as he sighed for what seemed the hundredth time that night. The only person who wasn't here was Ichigo. "she's late" a woman whispered in his ear and Ryou turned around hopefully. He gasped when he saw a woman wit deep brown eyes and curled red hair, she was wearing the dress he had designed and little make-up. Instantly he knew who it was. "Ichigo?!" he gasped, standing to take in her radiance. She spun slightly, keeping her eyes on the shocked Ryou. "is it ok?" she asked and laughed lightly when he began to nod dumbly. In seconds the music flooded through his ears and he reached out for Ichigo's hand. "dance?" he asked to which she agreed.

Ichigo felt a shiver course through her body when he placed his hand on her hip and they soon fell into the rhythm of the music. "so Ryou. Are you ok?" Ichigo began, her concern showing slightly. He nodded in response but she saw through his deceit. "don't lie to me Ryou"

"are we playing a guessing game now?" he retorted

"no I'm just worried"

"you never seemed to be before with your precious masaya"

"hey-"

"you know it's true, why would you want to care about how I feel now?" Ichigo was on the verge of tears, not only had that jerk brought up a touchy subject but he was rubbing it in her face. "you know what, fine. I won't care you big jerk! I- ooh I loathe you greatly you pompous ass" Ichigo yelled, slapping him and storming outside towards the balcony. It wasn't hard enough to cause bruising but enough to feel the sting, "oh kami, what have I done?" he groaned as he walked up towards his room.

The whole gang noticed what had taken place and knew that this was not how it should end. "kish, go talk to her" mint ordered, shocking the alien. "what? Why me? Why not Pai or… or you?" he screeched. Zakuro piped in "because you seem to be close and you're a guy so you can relate to Ryou. Now GO" she growled as kish nodded and huffed off. "but if something goes wrong I blame you all."

Ichigo was leaning against the cool railing as her eyebrows stayed knitted together and she thought hard. "Careful Ichigo, if the wind faces, your stay will change like that" kish tried to remember the line but human phrases seemed a blur to him. It did get a laugh out of Ichigo though, "don't even try kish" she started, her smile growing. It left her features when she lifted her head to look at the stars. "you know kish, I told him that one night I matched each of these stars with a reason why I loved him. But in the end I realised that I had run out of stars." She said, confusing the alien.

"Ryou?"

"no masaya"

"oh" he mouthed as she continued

"and the very next day he told me that we weren't working and he was moving to England. That night I looked up to the stars again and tried to match each with a reason why I hated him. I had one reason, yet I ran out of stars again when I matched each one with a reason why I wanted to be back in his arms." Kish continued to listen as she poured her heart out to him and no one else. "I never told anyone that masaya left me, I just said that he would come back for me. But then Ryou began to tick me off and I wanted to show him and the others just how hard I worked. The mews I think figured it out but Ryou seemed to distance himself." Ichigo sighed deeply, "go on" kish urged as he drew himself closer

"I fell for him kish, I said that I wouldn't but I did and I feel so stupid in thinking that he could care about me" kish smiled at her words. "the funny thing Ichigo, is that that's exactly how I felt about you. I loved you and I knew it was wrong, and when you said no I always felt like a fool. But I kept going, and now I have a new life with Retasu." He explained. Ichigo looked at him, thinking about his words. She smiled when she began to form an idea, she hugged kish as a thank you and ran inside towards the stage, she knew what to do.

Ryou was sulking in his room when he heard the music stop and an angelic voice echoing through the café. "good evening everybody, I know it's rather brash however I have a small announcement to those who will understand… goodbye" the speech must've ended because there was a lot of murmuring and a few gasps. Keiichiro raced up to Ryou's room, opening the door and yelling two words. "Ichigo's left"

"what the hell did you do baka?" mint growled as she hit kish repeatedly. "I didn't do anything, I only said that I loved Ichigo and I was peeved when she said she didn't love me. Then I said that I kept trying and now I have… a… new… life. oh no, she took my words the wrong way!!" kish was now feeling guilty as Retasu reassured him. Ryou was there seconds later fretting "where's Ichigo?" he asked thought all but kish seemed to be upset.

"sorry but we haven't seen your 'ultimate weapon' since she had enough and left" mint scoffed. Ryou was in major stress mode by now. "she can't leave" he growled as he ran out of the café towards her favorite destinations.

Sidekick: n-

Me: yeees now… ok everyone, the moment you've been waiting for. Drum roll please

Sidekick: drum roll

Me: and the winner by pure hotness is…Sesshoumaru!!

Sesshoumaru: and must I say mate that I will never leave your side and I will force you to work under candlelight just to complete this story and any other story you've written my sweet.

Me: oh… that's… nice sweatdrops I can't wait –hold up save me sign-

Sesshoumaru: now r&r or I'll send your worthless soul into the deepest recesses of hell.

Me: eeeh.. heh heh, come back kira…


	8. Final Goodbyes?

Me: Hi there everyone... As you can see I haven't been writing at all... that's because I was very busy

Sesshoumaru: No, you haven't been writing because you are lazy

Me: O.O how could you say that sesshy?!? I thought you loved meeeee

Sesshoumaru: I would love nothing more than for you to complete this story so that I may force you to write yet another story. I like being able to control you.

Me: oh my... Well I'd just like to say thank you to a certain person who wrote to me personally and gave me a good reason to continue. I may have forgotten your name but you have pushed me to finish the story. So thx alot!!!

Sesshoumaru: cough-black moon inu-cough

Me: On with the show

She sat up in the tall tree, the same tree that she had been carried into when she first learnt of her powers. The same tree where Masaya had told her that he loved her and the same place where he had said goodbye to her for the last time and now, it would be the last thing she would remember about Tokyo. Tears flooded down her cheeks at her own foolishness, 'how could he ever love me? I was just his tool that he could use until I was no longer needed' Ichigo thought while looking into the night sky. The stars seemed to shine brighter than normally as Ichigo once again stared into them, thinking about Masaya and all the reasons why she wanted him here to comfort her. The reasons however, didn't flow like last time she star searched and her mind began to wander back to Ryouand her feelings towards him. Her heart; she realised, had felt too much pain and could no longer cope with the pain of loss and betrayal, 'Masaya will be the last' Ichigo thought. Scoffing, the girl jumped perfectly off the tall branch of the tree and landed softly on the floor, her tears no longer falling and a look of determination evident on her features as the clouds above her began to form and darken.

Ryou was racing for time, trying to imagine all of the places that his Ichigo would be using the help of her trusty ball of fur Masha. Passing the entrance to a park, Masha's sensors went berserk. The tiny bot began beeping and Ryou stopped at a dead halt, looking towards the entrance of the familiar park. The whole place seemed to be surrounded by tall, rusty fencing while unkempt trees and bushes grew unevenly on the ground beside the path that had seen better days behind the many cracks and holes. The lights that had once all lit up the beautiful park barely even shone anymore or didn't even glow at all, young vandals having destroyed the beauty that had once been so popular even in the evenings. Ryou knew the park well, this being the place where he had first rescued Ichigo and had started to fall into the deep curse that was love. "Are you sure she's here Masha?" Ryou asked while still trying to regian his breath while the robot bounded happily in the air. "yes yes Ichigo here!!! Always here" the bot cheered, confusing Ryou, "Show recording of when Ichigo entered Tokyo park" Ryou ordered and Masha's eyes changed to a dull white as a projector system began to play in front of Ryou's eyes.

The first time was when Ichigo was standing beneath a tree with Masaya as he held her hands tightly. There was no sound, only the images of Masaya and Ichigo hugging while smiling and holding each other tightly. The scene faded and moved to a few more shots where the two were together, walking, holding hands, even kissing. But the last video was what Ryou seemed to be the most shocked about. It was Masaya, standing in front of Ichigo with a frown on his face, ignoring the tears that were falling on the red haired girl as she attempted to hug him. Her efforts to regain a connection however were cut short when he placed his hands in front of him and pushed Ichigo roughly to the ground. Shouting something, Masaya walked away, not even looking back to see if Ichigo was ok.

Masha's eyes turned back to normal and the projector died down but Ryou could not forget the images he had seen. It had seemed as if Masaya had broken up with Ichigo, and quite harshly as well. 'Maybe this is my chance' Ryou thought with a new enthusiasm that gave him the strength to run into the empty park and follow the path to search for his beloved Ichigo. As he pumped his legs harder, Ryou didn't even feel the rain as it fell. Drop by drop.

Ichigo had taken no more than ten steps when she heard it. The heavy breathing and long strides that were coming closer and the figure that had emerged from the hairpin turn in front of her. Blonde hair swayed uncontrollably as Ryou soon was no more than five meters from a surprised yet serious Ichigo. Bending as low as possible, Ryou drank as much of the surrounding air as his lungs would allow while watching a bored Ichigo walk away. "NO" he screamed through his hard breathing and began to exhort any energy he had left into reaching where the cat girl had paused still in mid step. "Please" he begged in a hoarse voice "wait."  
"And what makes you think that I will even give you the time to catch your breath?" Ichigo said in a bored tone that was so unlike her. She did however, give him the time that he had requested and waited until he had regained his breath. "I know about Masaya" he said in a serious tone, noting the shocked look that Ichigo had on her face at his words. "How?"  
"Masha" he said before stepping closer towards her frozen body. "Ichigo, I've been too afraid to tell you before because you seemed so happy with Masaya, but now that I know the truth I have to tell you something-" he began but Ichigo stopped him short of finishing.  
"Please don't say it... I can't... I can't hear it" Ichigo's sight began to blur as she felt the sting of the forming tears that threatened to spill with each word uttered from his lips. The rain was now falling heavily, drenching the two heartbroken people "Ichigo... What's the matter? Why are you pushing me away?" Ryou begged but it was useless, Ichigo shook her head furiously, refusing to look at the deep blue pools of light that were boring into her with fear. "Don't say it. Don't tell me that please" Ichigo tried to stop the strong arms from grabbing her shoulders but his strength had overcome her resistance and She found herself soon in Ryou's arms as he whispered softly into her ear. "Tell me... please." Taking a step back, Ryou released his hold on the girl as a single tear slipped out of her control and rolled down her cheek. "I'm... leaving" she said quietly, "father has been relocated to another factory in America and because I have nowhere else to go I have to go to America as well."  
"No... what about the other mews? Do they know???" Ryou asked  
"No... no one does. But I have made up my mind and I have agreed to go. There have even been reports of alien and mysterious activity in America so I can help there as well" Ryou could barely hear her over the sound of his own heart breaking before his eyes. Over all of the years he had worked with Ichigo, never had he thought that his harsh words could drive the girl away. "S-Stay... stay with me-" he began but Ichigo just shook her head.  
"If you're ever in California, drop by my cafe" Ichigo said before turning around and running into the dark bushes. Ryou called out for her in desperation but it was futile and she was gone in seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime's walk from the park to the cafe with such a heavy heart as the clouds cried the tears he would never shed.

Me: MWAHAHAHAHAHA will that be the last Ichigo sees Of Ryou?!?!?!?111

Will Ichigo die in a freak accident on the way to America?!?!?!?!11

Will Ryou get over it and find a new love or will it end in TRADGEDY!?!?!?!?! R&R to find out

Sesshoumaru: You really do like to ruin the story dont you?

Me: I wouldn't do it any other way XD


	9. Just A Dream

Me: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG It's finally done peoples!!! The wait is over and the last chapter can finally commence. At first I thought... Hmm maybe I should just piss off my fans and end the story in an angsty way... But then I realised... I can't have you guys hating me... I need you to love me so that you can shower me with gifts and love... And COOKIES hehehehe... So I decided to just flip a coin and well... Here it is

Hope you enjoy!!!

Ryou sat up from his bed faster than ever before, attempting to calm his irregular breathing. 'Had it actually happened?' He thought. 'Is Ichigo really gone?' Getting up faster than ever and racing down the stairs. He didn't care that his hair was messed beyond belief, nor did he notice that his upper body was naked for the world to view. All that Ryou cared about was getting to the bottom step.

Ryou glided down the stairs at an unimaginable pace, completely forgetting the sharp 90 degree turn halfway down as he crashed head on into the wall. With a garbled whine, the blonde lost his footing and soon found himself rolling down the remaining stairs before landing on the bottom step upside down and clutching his aching head, his eyes shut tight to protect them from the glare of the light above. Seconds later a shadow cast itself over the blinding light and a feminine voice resonated through his ears, "Ryou, are you ok?" The blonde squinted his eyes slightly, only to see purple and frills. "Wh-where's Ichigo?" Ryou moaned, feeling a headache forming at the back of his head as he sat up and nursed his aching head. "She took the day off remember? You said that she could" Zakuro replied and helped Ryou onto his feet. Ryou simply nodded and spun around, choosing to walk carefully down into the lab and type some things up on the computer. "Computer, find masha's location" Ryou ordered as the coordinates came up onto the screen:

"_Earth, Japan, Tokyo, Tokyo Park"_

It read while Ryou stood abruptly and ran up the steps towards the four curious girls and one suspicious chef. "Retasu, my jacket please" Ryou asked and extended his hand to grab the clothing from the green haired girl. "What's wrong Ryou-san? Is Ichigo-san in trouble?" she asked timidly however she was ignored by Ryou who flew past her and out the door as his friends just watched him go.

_Tokyo Park  
_"Why can't you take me with you? I thought you said you would take me? Don't you love me Masaya?" Ichigo whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks but Masaya paid no heed to her tears as his face remained a constant frown. "I'm sorry Ichigo but ever since I found out that you're mew Ichigo, I lost interest. I just can't be with someone like that" He replied curtly,  
But Masaya, the powers will go away now that there is no threat. We still have a chance" Ichigo threw herself at Masaya, hoping, praying that he would reconsider. If he left her then she would have no one. His reaction however was not as she had hoped...

_With Ryou  
_He was almost at the park, near the tree where he had saved Ichigo the first time when he saw it, Ichigo crying while Masaya ignored her. His lungs burned and his body ached from the constant running but that didn't stop him, driving him to further pump his legs and speed up. The two were still too far for him to hear their words however the lip movement and Ichigo's actions told him one thing, if Ryou didn't get there in time, he may lose Ichigo forever.

"Don't you get it Ichigo? I DON'T LOVE YOU!" Masaya yelled, pushing Ichigo away and to the cold concrete path beneath them however Ichigo didn't fall like she thought she would. Instead she found herself only centimetres from the ground with two strong arms encircled around her waist. Ichigo gasped loudly as the arms pulled her into a deep hug and a masculine chin rested on her head. 'Masaya? No it can't be him he's standing right in front of me. Then who could it be?' Ichigo thought, leaning into the warm body behind her. "Don't you ever hurt my strawberry, or there will be hell to pay" The voice from behind boomed and Ichigo turned her head around, only to see her blonde haired, blue eyed boss standing right behind her, holding her as if she were the most precious jewel in the world. "Now get lost and don't ever let me see you again." Masaya glared at Ryou and spat at his feet, turning around and stalking off with his hands in his pockets.

Ryou smirked widely before looking down to catch Ichigo's shocked stare. The two just looked at each other before Ichigo shook her head roughly and pushed herself out of Ryou's arms. "Why the hell did you do that for? Why did you have to butt in? I didn't need your help! I don't need you!" Ichigo yelled throwing her arms up as her voice rose. Ryou's face was serious, no humor in sight as he looked at Ichigo. "Ichigo, I knew that you were going to get dumped by Masaya today. I also know that your father is moving to America, that's why you needed Masaya; so that you could stay in Japan with him." Ryou said and watched as Ichigo's mouth opened and closed like a fish.  
"But... But how did you know? I mean... I only found out about it yesterday and I haven't told a soul. You didn't talk to my parents did you?" Ichigo asked in confusion but Ryou shook his head.  
"If you'll believe me, I saw it in a dream. You had already been dumped and had decided to move to America so when I went to confess my feelings, it was already too late. I woke up and realised that today was the day and that if I didn't at least try now then I would lose you forever." Ichigo merely stared at the blonde, knowing that he was telling the truth however unable to comprehend how he knew. "Wait... You confessed your feelings?" Ichigo asked. Ryou chuckled as took a step towards Ichigo, his hand pressing gently onto her cheek. "Yes strawberry. You may not know this but I have loved you for so long, yet your relationship with Masaya has kept me from saying it. I'm sorry that I acted like such a jerk all of those times, I just wanted you to notice me and not always notice Masaya. I am doing something that I haven't done since my parents were alive but I think that if I don't, I will never get another chance." Ryou poured out his feelings, lowering his head and capturing Ichigo's lips in a kiss to seal his words. Ichigo could feel Ryou's true feelings through the searing kiss and soon found her heart fluttering wildly and her legs turning to jelly. Never, not even with Masaya, had she felt such an emotion and returned the kiss with a fever that she didn't even know she had.

Parting for air, Ryou stared into Ichigo's eyes, his lips curling into a smile when he saw the love in Ichigo's eyes and the red tint that stained her cheeks. "So you do love me" Ryou stated, laughing as he scratched her cat ears that had formed somewhere during their kiss. Ichigo merely purred as she hugged Ryou tightly. "Thank you Ryou, for showing me the right way. I will definitely stay in Japan, if you'll let me stay with you"  
"Oh? So you're already planning on moving in are you?" Ryou smirked  
"Well fine, if you really want me to just move to America-" Ichigo challenged back but was stopped by Ryou's lips that had planted themselves onto her own. "Never, I have you now and I'm not letting you go my little strawberry."

The two walked back to the cafe, holding hands with smiles etched upon their faces, ready to face the world together... Forever

The End

Me: Hahahahahha Took long enough eh?  
Kira: Yea... It sure did didn't it?  
Me: Huh? Where's Sesshoumaru (not that I mind really... That demon almost killed me)  
Kira: Now now, how could I leave a damsel in distress? Even if you are a very... Original damsel  
Me: Oh Kira I looooooove you –Insert puppy dog eyes-  
Kira: ... O...kay then... That's nice... Anyways, thanks everyone for putting up with lazybones over there. Finally the darn thing is over and I can rest  
Me: Oh Kira... You just gave me a great idea for my next story  
Kira: Oh boy... Well, see you all soon


End file.
